Animal Planet Answers London's Call Of The Wild

April 3, 2000|By DAVID KRONKE Los Angeles Daily News

Call of the Wild, Jack London's adventure yarn of a boy, his dog and Klondike fever in the Yukon has been filmed four times before, twice as a TV movie. The cable network Animal Planet takes the idea one step further by spinning its televersion of London's novel into its first fictional TV series.

The star of the show -- although he doesn't get nearly enough screen time -- is Kavic, a handsome Malamute/timber wolf mix playing Buck, the heroic sled dog, who saves pretty much everyone in sight at one point or another (or, at least, will be given the chance beginning Monday).

As for the humans, Shane Meier is clearly much older than his 15-year-old character, and his hair is far too perfect for a rugged Alaskan, but his acting chops aren't to be questioned as Miles Challenger, the young man who experiences love at first sight for Buck, only to watch another man outbid him for the noble pooch at an auction. When that man must give him up, a pair of buffoonish city slickers named Mercedes (Kathleen Duborg) and her all-vice-all-the-time brother Hal (Ben Cardinal), who'd be hard-pressed to hunt for their backsides let alone gold, buy Buck, then recruit Miles to guide them on their trek.

Out in the wild, Hal irrationally and repeatedly insists Miles switch their itinerary all around, unimpressed by the potential danger or even the fact that their food supply is dangerously dwindling. As presented here, Hal is an unconvincing stock villain and his behavior so loopily outlandish that not even the other characters can abide him, as evidenced in this exchange:

Mercedes: "My brother [shouldn't be considered] a malicious man."

Miles: "Your brother was a lunatic, Mercedes."

Mercedes: "You're right."

More appealing performers who will be regulars are Nick Mancuso as Miles' gruff but understanding stepfather, Rachel Hayward as his mother and Crystal Buble as his romantic interest. Call of the Wild makes for decent family fare with high adventure and mild humor, gorgeous, vast scenic vistas (British Columbia subs for Alaska) and equally gorgeous supporting canine players.